Dubrovnik, morning view

So, waking up in our airbnb. Which was an excellent, if expensive place to stay.

I was first, and therefore was first to admire the view from our balcony.

And right down below us was the owners' allotments.

Killers at Brixton Academy

This was a somewhat of a bonus gig. Having failed to get tickets for their arena tour, they suddenly announced this one at short notice at the almost intimate Brixton Academy. The prohibitive ticket prices (£69 including exorbitant booking fee of £10) probably kept out many, and skewed the audience profile to one where I didn't feel desperately old.

Support came from an offshoot project of the Howling Bells. We didn't think much of this lot. Dirge like.

But we had paid our money to see the Killers. In support of a new album, they opened with the new single from it, The Man, which was excellent and set the tone for the evening.

I suppose I could make two observations about the band, on top of the many I have made before (I had after all seen them play in Hyde Park only two months ago). One is that there can rarely have been a band whose lead singer is as much of a contrast as Brandon is to his band mates. While they are a big, static and hairy lot, Brandon is lithe, clean shaven and dynamic. As a show the Killers are all Brandon Flowers. Musicianship is another thing. Even having lost a couple of original guitarists they sound very good.

Which leads me into my second point. They write great songs more than produce great music. Radiohead, say, produce great music. The Killers just go from great song to great song. Never mind the lyrics (Human - "Are we human, or are we dancers" Really? Are they the only two options?), you just want to sing along to them. And this set just ploughed through all their albums showcasing so many great songs (plus their Joy Division cover of Shadowplay) with particular reference to Hot Fuss, which probably had their best anthems on - Somebody Told Me, Smile Like You Mean it, And you're a Star, and finishing the set with All These Things That I have Done followed by Mr Brightside. Just a perfect set. And this means you really do want to see them, rather than just sit at home and listen to their cds.

On the minus side, possibly the hottest sweatiest gig I have been to. I swear on leaving there was a mist - we had created our own cloud from sweat!

Then onto the encore, with a new song to open - The Calling, which was introduced by none other than Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson.

The set finished with an old favourite, When You Were Young. A storming evening. Worth the admission price? Well maybe, even at that price.

First night in Dubrovnik

At last our much anticipated trip to Croatia. An odd little band - Thibault and his school mate Ted, both around 30 and little fat me getting on for 55. And Thibault had somehow now collected two travelling companions who can't drive, so all that activity was for him.

We had airbnbs lined up for the holiday, starting with two nights here in Dubrovnik in an apartment high above the old town (more about that in next entry). As we got in late evening we just did rudimentary unpacking and descended into the old town for dinner. Very atmospheric.

Atmospheric, and busy. A lot of folk on the street.

 We decided to start with a bit of fine dining. Arguably the best meal of the holiday. At a price. Dubrovnik is not cheap.

Then a stroll around in the warm evening air. Clearly an attractive place to explore, which we would do tomorrow. It does look lovely at night though.